(ign.com) Actor Adam West, the star on the classic 1960s Batman TV series, died Friday at the age of 88 after a brief battle with leukemia.

“Our dad always saw himself as The Bright Knight and aspired to make a positive impact on his fans’ lives. He was and always will be our hero,” his family said in a statement.

The kitschy, lighthearted 1966-68 Batman television series became a pop culture phenomenon and cemented the Caped Crusader’s campy image for a generation until darker comic book and movie interpretations came along.

The role was so iconic for West that it essentially killed his career and the actor struggled to work in the years following the show’s cancellation. (He later recalled those lean years in the documentary Starring Adam West.) Ultimately, the greatest role West landed after hanging up his cape and cowl was as a variation of himself.

A generation that grew up with West’s Batman embraced him in his later years, and West became a voiceover actor on such animated shows as Family Guy, where his self-deprecating wit served him well as the voice of Quahog mayor Adam West.

West also revisited the role of Batman in the animated movie Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, which reunited him with his former co-stars Burt Ward (Robin) and Julie Newmar (Catwoman). He also voiced the Caped Crusader in its upcoming sequel, Batman vs. Two-Face, co-starring William Shatner as the voice of Harvey “Two-Face” Dent.

Before he donned the cape and cowl, the Washington-born West starred in such films as Robinson Crusoe on Mars and The Young Philadelphians and starred on the TV series The Detectives.

On behalf of all of IGN, we extend our condolences to Adam West’s loved ones and will always remember the joy his Batman brought to so many of us. Thanks, old chum.